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About the Author

Lori Palatnik is a writer and Jewish educator who has appeared on television and radio. She is the Founding Director of The Jewish Women's Renaissance Project, an international initiative that brings thousands of women to Israel each year from 18 different countries on highly subsidized programs to inspire them with the beauty and wisdom of their heritage (www.jwrp.org). She is a much sought-after international speaker, having lectured in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Central America, South America, South Africa and Israel, including featured talks at Yale, Brown and Penn. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik, and is the busy mother of five children, ages 25 to 15.

question: when you talk to G-d casually, do you use His real name, or do you refer to HIm as "Hashem" or "G-d?" Thanks

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Anonymous,
December 11, 2012 4:33 PM

Has God ever, ever really answered you?

I have been praying, talking to God all my life. I have never heard a verbal response. A conversation is a 2-way street. I have come to the conclusion that God left this earth he created centuries ago. We are not talking to God - we are talking to ourselves !

Miriam,
December 12, 2012 1:07 PM

Good question

Tzipora Heller explains that G-d talks to us in actions not in words. Like, she says, if you would come to her house for a Shabbos meal and her daughter puts a piece of gefilte fish in front of you. She doesn't have to say, "This is the fish." It's obvious. G-d talks to us with the billions of miracles he gives us every second: eyes to see with, fingers, food, family, gravity....(Sandy taught many of us to appreciate many blessings.)
Since you've been in the habit of talking to G-d from before, you might want to try what Rabbi Noah Weinberg calls "the atheist's prayer"; Dear G-d, if you're there please help me find you....
Also, there's a book called Duties of the Heart which analyzes and proves G-d's existence.
Good luck on the most important quest of your life!

Shoshana-Jerusalem,
January 5, 2013 7:16 PM

Miriam's answer

Miriam's answer is excellent and I would like to add one other point- of course He has been answering you and talking to you all along! Probably you have asked for life and you are alive, and I'm sure that much of what you have in your life you have asked for and been granted. As far as His talkilng to you is concerned, He is talkilng to you and guiding you constantly. Have you ever been in a quandry as to what to do in a particular situation and you suddenly get a "brain storm"? Gd has given you the answer, put it directly into your head! He is directing you and guiding you and all of us throughout our day and life. We just have to recognize that it is Him and not us. Of course we cannot hear a verbal response as we are not Moses, but the ideas He puts into our heads come from Him. Would enjoy hearing your opinion on this.

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steven fox,
December 10, 2012 11:43 AM

Strange as it seems

Dale Carnegie's first lesson in his class is to tell you that a person name is the most important thing for a person to remember...